Which to use
“mince” is a noun and “mingle” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,293
- “mince” frequency rank
- #22,155
- “mingle” frequency rank
- 50448
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mince | mingle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Finely chopped meat; minced meat. | To intermix; to combine or join, as an individual or part, with other parts, but commonly so as to be distinguishable in the product. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mince and mingle apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mince is /mɪns/ while mingle is /ˈmɪŋ.ɡəl/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50448, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mince is recorded at frequency rank #28,293, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɪns/. mingle is at rank #22,155, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈmɪŋ.ɡəl/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 50448, this pair ranks #174,171 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mince vs mingle
Shared letters: eimn. Private to "mince": c. Private to "mingle": gl.
"mince" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "mingle" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mince" and "mingle" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mince" or "mingle"?
Remembering mince vs mingle
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “mince”; for a verb, it's “mingle”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mince” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable